Firefighter, cancer survivor and advocate Nick Howe shares his experiences of surviving cancer with an experimental treatment, only a few years later to require a new heart during which time a spinal stroke left him paralyzed from the waist down. Howe talks about a desire to dedicate his life in service to others initially taking the form of being a firefighter, as well as a spouse and father, but which now has assumed a new shape and vitality of purpose.
Nick and Rachel Howe met initially in 2005 and later married. Nick worked as firefighter and Rachel as a teacher. In 2016, the onset of severe health issues for Nick was diagnosed as Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma that chemotherapy, immunotherapy and an autologous stem-cell transplant failed to treat. To save his life, he underwent a highly experimental therapy called CAR T-cell therapy and he has been in remission since. After welcoming their two children, in the summer of 2022, Nick experienced more illness and received a heart transplant. A few weeks later, with his new heart failing, Nick was placed in a medically induced coma during which time he had a spinal stroke that has left him paralyzed from the waist down. Nick’s dedication to supporting others now includes serving as the Nebraska State Director for the Firefighter Cancer Support Network and as an ambassador for LLS and Lymphoma Research Foundation. Nick, his wife Rachel, and their two kids live in Omaha, Nebraska.
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